Improvement in bag-fasteners



UNTTTin STATES PATENT Orurrcu.

TnoMAs GLEARY, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT INV BAG-FASTENERS.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 211,224, dated January7, 1879; application filed November 8, 1878.

.Ff To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THoMAs GLEARY, of New York city. in the State of NewYork,have

j invented certain new and useful Iinpro vemcn ts relating toBag-Fastenings, of which the following is a specification:

W hen grain is carried as freight across the ocean it is necessary, forprudential reasons, to carry a certain portion of the grain in bags.Convenience requires that there'shall be a gathered quantity of the bagon each side at the top to facilitate handling, and it is iinportant forobvious reasons that the mouths of the bags shall be fastened by meanswhich may be closed and opened with little skill or labor, and shall bereliable and durable. lt is furthermore important that the fastenin gsshall allow the holding of 4the greatest quantity of grain in a bag of agivmen size. My invention attains all these ends.

'lhe followin gis a description of what I con sider the best means ofcarrying out the invention.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specification.

Figure'l is a side elevation of a full bag,A

showing my improved fastening applied. Fig.

2 is a view of the under side of lmy device,

. below the top to form the required ear or lug when that portion of thematerial of which the bag is composed situated above the same is drawntogether. O1 C2 are strings, by which the mouth of the bag is ultimatelysecured and held iirmly in the closed position. I employ, in 1connection, two rigid cheeks, Dl D2, of less length than the entirewidth of the closed bag, but sufficiently long to extend nearly acrossthe top of the bag when its width is contracted by being filled. Certainparts of these cheeks D1D2 willbe denoted by further marks. These rigidpieces or cheeks may be of various materials, as malleable cast-'iron orbrass. I prefer hard wood, and will so describe these parts. Each of myrigid parts D1 D2 is provided with two or more spurs or project-ions,D3, on its inner face, which extends through the material of the bag Aand protrudesk beyond. These spurs or project-ions are preferably ofmetal properly coated to protect them from oxidization. They may bestrongly "'secured by screw-threads, as indicated in Fig. 2. Each cheekDl DZ is also formed with two or more recesses or holes, d, adapted toreceive the corresponding spurs D3 of the opposite cheek; Each cheek isperforated, as indicated at di, to allow boththe strings C* C2 to bepassed through. Each is also grooved, as indicated by d2, the groovebeing deep enough near the hole d1 to receive the string C1 or C2, andbecoming near the end ofthe cheek much deeper. At the eXtreme end itassumes the form of a longitudinal hole in the pieces Dl D2.

I fasten the material of the bag firmly to the inner faces ofthe cheeksby rivets e, which engage through bot-h the cheek and bag, and alsothrough a thin inner piece of metal, E. The ends of the strings Gl C2may be secured to their respective cheeks by being rove through andknotted, with the knots drawn into a recess in the inner face, as shownin Fig. 3, or on the outer face, or on top or bottom.

The string G1 is permanently attachedto one end of the cheek D2. Itextends out through the end thereof, and is"rove, first, through the eyeH, and then through the orice in the adjacent eud of the cheek, D1;thence it follows along the groove d2, and is passed through the hole d*in bot-h cheeks. The other string, G2, is correspondingly applied at theother end of the clamps, being permanently fastened to the cheek D1, androve through the eye and orifice, and finally rove through the holes d.It follows that the clamps D1 D2 will be closely and strongly heldtogether, thus closing the central and main portion of the bag-mouth,and that on drawing the strings C1 G2 the flexible material of the bagwill be gathered at and near each end of the clamps, thus eifectuallystopping the mouth of the bag and forming the proper handles formanipulating it at the upper corA ners. On untyin g the knot G3, intowhich the strings (ll O2 are tied, the fastening is liber zles insteadof one large one. This will allow my strings Gl C2 to be received in thecrotch between the two nozzles. In cases where this provision shall notexist I can remove, or without much trouble draw out, the ends ofstrings from the holes d, and thread them through again to retie thebags.

Modifications may bey made. The cheeks may bemade of sheet metal,hollowed on the inner face, and liberally punched with small smoothholes to facilitate the` sewing of the bag material thereto. The bag maybe glued or otherwise cemented to the cheeks, either Valone or inaddition to the stitching or other fastening; but l prefer the rivetingdescribed.

The loose ends of the cords Cl G2 may be simply knotted when it isallowable to keep them always in the hole dl. When it is necessary toremove them at each operation their ends should be left small andproperly fitted, in order to equip them for ready removal and rethreading in the holes d.

I believe it practicable to make the holesdl not in the center of eachcheek, but much nearer one end than the other. This may allow my bags tobe used with the ordinary elevator-nozzle without any special provisionand without disconnecting' the strings.

The invention is eminently adapted to rough and rapid handling inSteamship work. The rigid parts are too short to interfere with thestowage when the bags are hastily rolled or otherwise compressedtogether, or placed many bags in one, for the return passage. The bagsmay be handled, if desired, by seizing directly on the clamps; butthefastening provides for the accustomed means of handling by the gatheredmaterial at the corners. Repairs may easily be made by ordinary workmen.

Instead of sewing the guide-rings on the outside of the bag, they may berecessed partly orentirely into the material of' the bag; or thefunction may be performed by suitable small holes through the materialof the bag, not large enough to allow the escape of the grain. In suchcase the holes should be worked or defended with a grommet or eyelet.V

The strings, in running along from the end to the middle orcrossing-point in each clamp, may be grooved in the bottom or top or onthe outside, or in some cases, perhaps preferably, on the inside,between the material of the bag and the strap. The vholes d1, throughwhich the strings Gl C2 are passed in oppositedirections,may, instead ofbeing large enough to take both strings, be two separateA holes closetogether.

The bags fitted with my attachments will -dump or empty their contentswith greater rapidity than sewed bags, there being no stitches to impedethe free iiow of the grain, so soon as the strings are loosened.

I claim as my inventionl. The perforated and grooved stripsD,l D2, ofrigid material, with the projecting spurs D3 and receiving-recesses d,and the strings Cl (l2, combined and arranged for joint operation, asand for the purposes herein specified.

2. A grainbag having the strips D! D2, locking-spurs D3, and recesses d,and rings or string-guides H, and the strings C102, whereby the mouth ofthe bag is confined at will, and at the same time lugs or ears aregathered by the act of fastening at each side of the top of the same, asherein specied.

In testimony. whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 31st day ofOctober, 1878, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' THOMAS OLEARY.

Witnesses:

OHAs. G. STETsoN, E. W. STAFFORD.

